A veteran Associated Press photographer who had covered wars around the world was shot dead and another reporter was wounded yesterday when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, the news agency said.

The attack took place on the eve of a presidential election in Afghanistan that Taliban insurgents have pledged to disrupt through a campaign of bombings and assassinations.

Afghan policeman opened fire on photographer and reporter

The AP said photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, was killed and reporter Kathy Gannon, 60, wounded while they were sitting in the back of a car.

Niedringhaus, an acclaimed German photographer who had covered conflict zones including Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, Gaza and the West Bank, was killed instantly, according to an AP Television freelancer who witnessed the shooting.

Canadian reporter Kathy Gannon, who is based in Islamabad and has covered war and unrest in Afghanistan for 30 years, was shot twice and was receiving medical help, the AP said.

Gannon underwent surgery in the eastern city of Khost. The operation was described as successful and Gannon’s condition was stable, the AP said.

The two journalists were in a remote small town on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan when the attack took place. Taliban attacks on security forces, civilians and Westerners have been on the rise since the start of the year ahead of the vote, when Afghans will elect a successor to Hamid Karzai.

The AP said Niedringhaus and Gannon were travelling in a convoy of election workers delivering ballots from the centre of Khost city to the outskirts. The two had arrived in a heavily guarded district compound. As they were sitting in the car waiting for the convoy to move, a unit commander walked up to the car, yelled “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire with his AK-47.